So, it's not every patient that I see, but I'd say a good 70% to 80% of the patients when they go to bed it's like a stereo is playing at an 11 or 12 and they can't turn it down, at all. So it makes it very hard for their body to down regulate to be able to go to bed at night.
Shelby HarrisSome patients are still having insomnia, but it's seems worse to them than actually it is. So, if they say they're sleep deprived, they haven't slept at all in three days; if we actually take them into a lab, most of the time we actually do see they're sleeping on and off here and there.
Shelby HarrisWhen they [people with insomnia] start worrying about not sleeping, I'll say, "Say the mantra to myself; if I don't sleep tonight, I'll likely sleep tomorrow, and if not tomorrow then definitely the third" because our body has a way of naturally catching up.
Shelby HarrisSo it's like your brain has a large filing cabinet and it's opening up each drawer and it's taking in various images and memories from the day, consolidating what it needs to and puts in whatever file. And then if there's something that doesn't fit in any of the files and doesn't really belong, you'll forget about it. So it's a way of really getting a succinct way of storing things in your brain.
Shelby HarrisSo the older models, when you look at Freudian, when you look at Jungian thought, and there's still people who really - who really use the Jungian thought of dream analysis, is really that you would analyze the dreams. The dreams are there for a purpose.
Shelby HarrisWe're not really sure why it [broken circadian rhythm] continues, but when they become adults, we usually have to treat it because many people need to get up early to go to work and they can't be sleeping until 11:00 or 12:00. So we use treatments like bright light therapy, melatonin, things like that that are very effective.
Shelby Harris